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     Among the teachings of Jesus that Christians have found most difficult to observe is the prohibition against divorce.  Certainly the disciples were stunned by his reply to the Pharisees, who quoted Deuteronomy 24:1 and were more concerned about the cause for divorce and not about divorce itself!  It was assumed by all who were listening that divorce was a part of life.  Moses had permitted it - end of story!  Jesus rejects the debate and asserts that Moses allowed divorce because of human weakness and not because it was permitted by God!!  Jesus quotes Genesis (also a part of Torah, the law of Moses) in pointing out that "from the beginning" God had sanctified marriage and any human efforts to break that bond were unacceptable.

     I have celebrated a lot of weddings in my nearly 50 years as a priest.  A few of these have ended in divorce for various reasons.  In the ones that I know about, the roots of the ultimate failure were in existence at the time of the wedding but were concealed during courtship/preparation either intentionally or unconsciously.  My work in church matrimonial tribunals with folks seeking annulments reinforces my belief.  The intentional concealments are rarer than the unintentional ones.  The former may involve for example, sexual orientation or addictions.  The unintentional ones may involve the cultural attitude that views marriage as one more consumer item or some family-of-origin issues.

     Jesus' teaching remains the same.  The legal and cultural battle against marriage as a sacred reality continues.  The church's efforts to prepare couples properly for a sacramental reality has to improve.  The witness of happy and healthy marriages needs to be better known so that young couples will desire it and work everyday at it.  The results are shown in the happiness of the children, something I have witnessed time and again in my years of campus ministry.  Jesus is not being unrealistic.  Moses gave up trying.  Should we?  AMEN